Live chicken egg embryos as an alternative tumour model for deep surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Live chicken egg embryos offer new opportunities for evaluation and continuous monitoring of tumour growth for studies compared to traditional rodent models. Here, we report the first use of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) mapping and surface enhanced spatially offset Raman scattering (SESORS) for the detection and localisation of targeted gold nanoparticles in live chicken egg embryos bearing a glioblastoma tumour.

Progressing the care, husbandry and management of ageing mice used in scientific studies.

Driven by the longer lifespans of humans, particularly in Westernised societies, and the need to know more about 'healthy ageing', ageing mice are being used increasingly in scientific research. Many departments and institutes involved with ageing research have developed their own systems to determine intervention points for potential refinements and to identify humane end points. Several good systems are in use, but variations between them could contribute to poor reproducibility of the science achieved.